Mixtape Review | Chance The Rapper – 10 Day

This mixtape was released on April 3rd in 2012. It’s Chance The Rapper’s first official mixtape. Chance recently announced the release date of his upcoming project, Chance 3. I’ve never heard any of his projects, so I decided I would listen to 10 Day & Acid Rap before that shit came out. I don’t have a lot of experience with Chance The Rapper. I’ve only heard him on a few features. The first time I saw his name was the day Acid Rap dropped. I went to the “Mixtapes” section on HotNewHipHop, and it caught my eye. I was intrigued by the dope ass cover art, and I thought Chance The Rapper was a cool ass name, so I decided to give it a shot. I turned the first track on and listened to about 15 seconds of it. Then I said “I don’t like this shit,” and turned it the fuck off. I really don’t know why I didn’t give it a chance. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood to listen to new shit. I always planned on coming back to it, but it just never happened. The other day I asked my homie what he’d been listening to, and all he said was “kyle.” I said something along the lines of “Who the fuck is kyle?” I assumed that it was just one of his white struggle rapper friends. He hit me back in four separate texts talkin’ ’bout “KYLE THE RAPPER” “NIGGA” “HE WAS ON CHANCE IS SURF ALBUM” “QUIT LSITENING TO BANGERS.” I was like “Oh shit i never listened to surf” “I aint even heard acid rap yet.” I swear this motherfucker damn near had a stroke. “Nigga y not” “Wtf” “It’s so good.” So yeah. That’s when I knew I was gonna have to check this guy’s discography out. I’m not really considering this to be a full marathon since I usually save those for people with more experience in Hip Hop, and I’m probably not gonna check out Surf. I just don’t want to. I might do it eventually if I turn out to be a huge Chance The Rapper fan. I heard it’s not that good tho… Anyway, 10 Day was apparently made after Chance got suspended in the 12th grade for possession of the true. I really don’t know what to expect from this shit since I’m not familiar with Chance’s work. I guess it’s probably gonna be dope.

Track 1: 14,400 Minutes (Prod. DJ SuchNSuch)

This beat’s pretty dope. It’s not super impressive or anything, but I like it. Chance is goin’ in right now with a melodic delivery. Okay, the song just ended. It’s just one verse. It was good tho. His flow and delivery were both very good. He’s just rappin’ about how he got suspended for having weed. He also mentioned how he saw his homie get stabbed to death in front of him. It’s a good song. I’m not amazed since it’s just one good verse over a good beat, but I think it was a nice way to open up the project. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 2: Missing You (Prod. Thomas Foolery)

Okay, this beat is dope af. It sounds much more modern than the previous track. Chance is goin’ in now. What the fuck… This guy’s flow is all over the place. I kinda like it for some reason tho. It sounds like it was intentional. He somehow makes it work. It’s so dope. This is crazy. The beat is really dark and menacing. This is honestly gangsta as fuck. Chance is rapping about Chicago. “Brown boys are dying, and none of ‘em were for business / And all of em’ love they mommas, and all of they mommas miss ’em / And this shit is just stupid, this shit is fucking senseless / The news shouldn’t support it, this shit is getting expensive.” The first verse was great. His flow is very unorthodox, but it’s dope af. He’s singing the bridge. It’s pretty good. The beat switches up to some emotional ass piano shit. This honestly sounds a lot like a Kanye West beat. Mostly because of the percussion. He’s singing about the friend who got stabbed to death. “I’m missing you.“

I definitely fuck with this shit. The song started out hard af, and it somehow switched up to some super emotional shit without sounding soft. This really reminds me of Kanye West for some reason. I definitely fuck with this shit. It’s dope af. 5/5

Track 3: Nostalgia (Prod. MF Love)

I like the way they have this old TV show sampled at the beginning of the song. It just sounds really… I don’t even know. This beat is so fucking dope. The production on this whole project just keeps reminding me of Kanye West for some reason. I think I wanted to hear more shit like this during the Kanye West marathon. It gives me a College Dropout vibe, except it sounds more sad. Y’all know I love sad music, so this shit is perfect for me. This beat is absolutely incredible to me. It just sounds really friendly and innocent. It kinda reminds me of Grown Ups by Danny Brown. I think that’s what I’ve been trying to say this whole time with the Kanye comparisons. This production just makes me think of being a little kid. That’s a good thing by the way. I guess Nostalgia is really the perfect title for this shit. He’s rapping about his younger days too. “I still got orange and white cassette tapes / Tents where my neighbor came to spectate / Niggas that’s tough now used to get little in the dark / It’s all cool now, we’re all little kids at heart.” Oh my God. This song is fucking incredible. I’ve been sleeping so fucking hard on Chance. “Round here we lose best friends like every week / I like to think we playin’ a long game of hide and go seek / And one day maybe ima find Terrance and I could lead them / Kids of the Kingdom singing about freedom.“

That line fucking got me. This shit is incredible. The hook is dope af. The second and third verses were great too, but that first verse really stood out the most to me. I definitely fuck with this song. Lemme check this music video out real quick… Eh… The music video wasn’t anything special honestly… The song itself is definitely dope af tho. I love this song. 5/5

I’ve heard of Alex Wiley, but I don’t think I’ve actually heard any of his music. I remember seeing his face a lot when he dropped a project in like 2013 or 2014, but I never listened to his shit. All I know is that he’s from Chicago, and he looks like fuckin’ Jigglypuff. Okay, the song’s starting now. This beat is dope af. That’s to be expected from Apollo Brown tho. Chance starts spittin’ as soon as the track starts. This is easily the most energetic track on the tape so far. This REALLY reminds me of College Dropout Kanye. “This for every math class that I ever had / So fuck you if I failed, and fuck you if I passed.” This hook from Akenya Seymour is really dope. Alex Wiley’s goin’ in now. Damn. His flow on this shit is dope af. He had a great verse. I’m not gonna front… I was bitter about this motherfucker usin’ the N word at first ’cause I thought he was white, but apparently he’s just super light skinned and racially ambiguous just like yours truly, so it’s okay. It still seems like a bad idea for him to use the N word tho. I try not to use the N word ever. The only times I do use it are when I’m with my other black friends or I’m REALLY fuckin’ pissed off. Even when I occasionally write some bars I try to avoid using the N word. It’s not really up to me tho. He can use the N word if he wants. Chance’s last verse was dope. I fuck with this song. The beat is dope af, the hook is smooth as hell, and both MCs did a great job with the verses. I’m not blown away by this track at all, but I still think it’s very good. I fuck with this shit. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 5: Brain Cells (Prod. Peter Cottontale)

This beat is dope af. It’s really smooth. Goddamn. This beat is REALLY fuckin’ dope. Chance is goin’ the fuck in. His flow isn’t super aggressive, but the verse itself is super well written. It just sounds super poetic. There’s a lot of consonance too. The rhymes are super tight. The hook is dope af. This production is so smooth. Chance is actually a really talented writer. “Is he illiterate? Literal syndicate / Illegitimate idiot, gangbanger affiliate / Sick twisted prick, sick sadistic son of a biscuit / Man fuck this shit.” I don’t have any problems with this song. I don’t see how anyone could argue that this is a bad song. I definitely fuck with this shit. It’s dope af. The music video is actually pretty cool too. 5/5

Track 6: Long Time (Prod. Beirut)

Ehhhh. I don’t know how I feel about this beat. The vocal sample is a little overbearing. It kinda makes it difficult to hear what Chance is saying. The percussion sounds a little cheap too. The first verse was dope tho. He was rapping about his great grandmother. This is the first time I’ve been underwhelmed by the production on this tape. The second verse was really good. I just can’t get into this. The beat really holds it back for me, and I’m not feelin’ that vocal sample at all. I don’t think this is terrible. I wasn’t feelin’ the beat, but the verses from Chance were great. This is alright I guess. I won’t be coming back to it tho. 3/5

Track 7: 22 Offs (Prod. Flying Lotus)

The beat for this song is Track 2 from FlyLo’s unofficial project full of demos called Raw Cartoons. I just listened to the whole song. It’s just one verse. I guess the gimmick is supposed to be that he’s using the word “off” a bunch of times. I don’t know why it’s called 22 offs tho because he only says “off” 19 times. Some people were saying that you’re supposed to count the parts where he says “cOFFin” or “OFFicer,” but if you do that then it’s well over 22. It doesn’t really matter tho. I mean, it would’ve been nice if it was exactly 22 times, but I’m not gonna penalize it just because it isn’t. The beat is good. You can really tell that it’s just a demo from FlyLo, but I like it. Chance’s flow was nothing special. The shit he was saying was dope tho, and I liked his delivery. He sounds good over this beat. I like the song. It’s not that great tho. I kinda wish it was longer. It’s less than two minutes long, and the verse ends pretty abruptly. It doesn’t even really feel like a complete song. I kinda like it tho. I think the music video made me like it more. I like the music video. The song itself is cool. It’s nothing special, but I liked it. I don’t know tho… I don’t really feel comfortable calling this a good song. It’s definitely not bad. I think I’m just gonna say this is an okay song. It’s decent. I kinda like it, but it’s nowhere near as good as a lot of the other tracks on this tape. 3/5

Track 8: U Got Me Fucked Up (Prod. Chuck Inglish)

This beat isn’t very good… The first verse was decent. I just wasn’t really feelin’ Chance’s flow or his melodic delivery. I’m not really feelin’ this hook either. I don’t like the beat, and this melody that Chance is singing just isn’t very good. The second verse was actually really dope lyrically, but I just can’t fuck with the melody or flow. I’m not feelin’ this song. The beat is wack to me, and I wasn’t feelin’ Chance’s flow. The only thing I like about this track is some of the bars on the second verse. Other than that I’m really not feelin’ this track. It’s wack to me. I hope he gets back to the more mellow sound that he had at the beginning of this tape eventually. 2/5

Track 9: Family Feat. Vic Mensa & Sulaiman (Prod. Blended Babies)

I’m not really that familiar with Vic Mensa, but what little I’ve heard from him has been decent I guess. He’s on the first verse. It was good. I guess. It didn’t really stand out that much at all, but I enjoyed it. This beat is dope af. The hook from Chance is pretty good. Chance’s verse was dope. “No money for the meter when I’m parkin’ em / Gassed than a bitch, no car with him / Market him; tell him that he’s buzzing like a game of operation with Parkinsons.” Sulaiman’s on the last verse. I’ve only heard him on a few features, but he never really stands out that much to me. I enjoyed his verse here tho. The lyrics were kinda lackluster, but his flow was very good. Chance definitely had my favorite verse tho. I fuck with this song. I wasn’t really blown away by anything here, but I think everyone involved did a pretty decent job. It’s dope. The music video was nothing special tho… 4/5

Track 10: Juke Juke (Prod. Caleb James)

This song uses the same Isley Brothers sample as Big Poppa by Biggie. Eeeeehhh. I don’t think I’m gonna like this one… “She working that thing / She know she got it / Lil mama so bad / You know she naughty.” This isn’t the kinda shit I wanna hear about when I listen to music. This beat is pretty wack to me. The percussion sounds very choppy and disjointed. Same goes for Chance’s flow on the first verse. I wasn’t feelin’ the first verse either. I definitely don’t like this hook. This is easily the most mainstream sounding shit on the whole project so far. I don’t like anything about this track. I’m really not feelin’ this bullshit. This is wack af to me. 1/5

Track 11: Fuck You Tahm ‘Bout (Prod. Lex Luger)

This is a remix of Fuck This Industry by Waka Flocka Flame. This hook is pretty underwhelming. The beat is dope af. This is easily the most aggressive track on the tape so far. The first verse was decent I guess. “Fuck this whole school, and everything you tahm ’bout / Don’t ask me for no I.D., bitch I fucking signed out / Bitch, I’ve been suspended / bitch, I’ve been on timeout / Waking up in grind mode, and sleeping in a grindhouse.” This is a far cry from the innocent sound of Nostalgia. Nah. This isn’t working. This really doesn’t fit Chance’s style at all. I don’t wanna hear Chance The Rapper making Trap Music. It just doesn’t sound right. It even sounds like he dumbed down his lyrics too. I’m not feelin’ this shit. This is wack to me. 2/5

I guess “Nico Segal” is the former stage name of Donnie Trumpet. Hopefully I like this better than the original Long Time song. Okay, it’s starting now. Oh shit… This production is dope af. Oh, this first verse is the same as the first verse from the original Long Time song. I’m glad he laid it over this beat because the production was my main problem with the original song. I fuck with this first verse tho. Donnie Trumpet’s doin’ his thing in the background. This is a really dramatic sounding song. The hook’s alright. I guess the only difference in this song is the beat and the hook. Is this the same hook from the original song? I can’t remember… Oh shit. He’s spitting a new verse right at the end. It’s dope. I fuck with this song. The production & hook are a little too dramatic at times, and it sounds like the song is poorly mastered, but other than that I fuck with this shit. It’s dope. This is much better than the original version in my opinion. 4/5

Track 13: Prom Night (Prod. Prince Talent, DJ SuchNSuch & THEMpeople)

This beat sounds like it’s gonna be dope af. It has the same innocent, friendly sound as a lot of the tracks on the first half of this tape. It sounds like the background music for a scene in a movie in which the main character is getting ready for his first day of middle school. In a good way tho. I feel like that would be a bad thing for other rappers, but Chance can pull it off. Again, it reminds me of The College Dropout. This really sounds like Chance’s version of a College Dropout intro. Or outro maybe. The first verse was dope. The second verse was really good too. “And damn it would be crazy if any of this shit had happened / But it didn’t, I missed prom, I missed it to spin / I did a show at AKIN and I would do it again.” The third verse was great. This is a really dope song. I’m not really in love with it, but I enjoyed it. It’s dope. The beat was great, and so were the verses. The hook was dope af. I don’t really have any problems with this song. I guess I could say tat the melody of the hook gets kinda old before the song ends, but it’s not really that big of a deal. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 14: Hey Ma (Prod. Tree & Zak Fox)

As anyone could’ve guessed, this is basically Chance’s version of Hey Mama by Kanye West. The first verse was dope. The hook is really fuckin’ dope too. This vocals sample in the background sounds fucking incredible to me. The second verse was dope af. This is really fuckin’ dope. All the samples are layered on top of each other perfectly. This beat is dope af. I really don’t have any problems with this shit. I wasn’t really crazy about the first verse, but the second verse was dope af. The music video was pretty cool too. I’m what a lot of people would consider a to be “mama’s boy,” so songs like this always resonate with me. I definitely fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

This project was dope. When it first started I thought it was gonna be dope af, but it kinda went downhill once I hit the 6th track. There were still a lot of dope songs after that. Just not as dope as the one’s on the first half. The production was pretty solid for the most part. When it first started it kinda felt like an album, despite the fact that a lot of the tracks ended kinda abruptly. Not that they were too short; the transitions between each track were just kinda rough. It’s a mixtape tho, so I guess that’s to be expected. Chance is a dope rapper. His lyrics are VERY poetic, unless he’s rappin’ about typical shit like he was on Fuck You Tahm ‘Bout or Juke Juke. As I kinda alluded to earlier, I’m definitely much more of a fan of his more mellow, sentimental side. He doesn’t come off as a whiny bitch like Drake does. Wow, that sounded really mean. Sorry, Drake… Anyway, I’m definitely a fan of Chance The Rapper now. This project was dope, and I’m looking forward to Acid Rap now.

Published by OG Nick Marsh

I am not a music expert. My reviews are completely subjective and should not sway anyone’s opinion on any musical project. I don’t grade albums based on how “good” they are objectively. The score they receive depends on how much I enjoy them personally.
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